The Loire Valley, especially Blois and the Châteaux of the Loire by Rosemary Kneipp & Jean Michel Avril

Menu

Chanteloup Pagoda – La pagode de Chanteloup

Date: April 10, 2016

Author: avril

Built between 1775 and 1778 near Amboise, this surprising 44-metre high 6-story pagoda is all that is left of the famous château bought and extended by the Duc de Choiseul, Louis XV’s main minister after he fell out of favour in 1770. We’ve been meaning to go for some time but it’s closed in winter. However, today we were rewarded with a perfect spring day.

It’s a fun building, and a lucky survival. It’s only still here because it’s on a different parcel of land than the chateau itself was and when the estate was sold in the 19th century there were two different purchasers. I’m sure the purchasers of the chateau would have had no hesitation in demolishing it, whereas the person who did purchase it had a purpose for it and kept it.

Leave a reply

Get the daily photo by email

Enter your email address and receive updates.

The Loire and city of Blois

The Loire River is the longest river in France, covering more than 1,000 km from its source in the Massif Central to its mouth in the Bay of Biscay in the Atlantic Ocean. The main towns are Nevers, Orleans, Blois, Tours and Nantes. It is famous for its châteaux, particularly Chenonceau, Chambord, Chaumont and Cheverny, and its vineyards. The Loire Valley, a World Heritage Site, spanning about 300 km, is located in the middle stretch, 2 to 3 hours south of Paris.

Blois, where I live, is a town of 50,000 people ideally located for visiting the area. Although much was destroyed during the war, it still has some lovely old streets winding up the steep banks of the Loire. It was once the centre of the French Renaissance with a prestigious castle. Louis XII, king of France in 1498, was born there in 1462. One of its citizens, Denis Papin, invented the steam engine in 1647 and the illusionist Louis-Eugène Roubert-Houdin, born in 1805, is celebrated in the “House of Magic” just opposite the castle.